During the week of December 28, 2015, Sheep Dog Impact Assistance (SDIA) deployed four Disaster Response Teams (DRTs) to the Rowlett, Texas, area to assist with recovery efforts for those affected by tornadoes that struck the region two days prior. Thanks to the support of our generous donors and sponsors, SDIA deployed disaster response teams to north Texas, as well as flood relief teams to NW Arkansas and SW Missouri communities.
Fourteen SDIA members and volunteers from Arkansas, Kansas, Tennessee and Texas converged on the north Texas town of Rowlett, and provided chainsaw operations, debris removal and covered leaky roofs and windows on 34 homes. To see more pictures of the Rowlett DRM, visit our Facebook Album. We owe a special thank you to Larry “LG” Norrell and the crew of Bethel Ranch for allowing our teams to stay at Bethel Ranch. We could not have eaten or slept better if we had been in our own homes.
As the DRTs worked in North Texas, teams began forming to work on the flooding damage in NW Arkansas and SW Missouri. These efforts will continue over the next couple of weeks as waters recede and more assistance is required. If you are interested in volunteering for these missions, please contact JGoodwin@SheepDogIA.org. To make a secure online financial donation, visit our Donation page.
For Sheep Dogs, assisting people and communities in such tangible ways is humbling and rewarding in ways unattainable by other methods. For SDIA Members – all men and women with a military or first responder background – having the opportunity to help these communities provides the continued sense of purpose that so many of our nations Sheep Dogs need. For many, helping others truly is a way to heal.